Association of Related Churches

Tyler and Crystal Tullos, planters of StoryHeights Church in Boston, have told us amazing stories of how God is building their team and growing the church. Last week Tyler shared Ian’s story; today he tells us about Tracy.

Tracy is originally from Boston and says that several years ago she was an atheist and involved in witchcraft. She moved to Mississippi, met a man, and had a little girl. One day when her daughter was about two years old, the two of them were shopping and the girl picked up a figurine of Jesus and told Tracy who it was.

Tracy was angry with her daughter and couldn’t figure out how she knew about Jesus.  On a Sunday morning not long after, they drove past SouthPoint Church in Southaven, Mississippi. Tracy said, “I kept seeing those signs for a new church.  I kept avoiding them as well, I really struggled with [going inside] because I was so strong in my non belief. Something called me directly to that church. Eh, who knows… I make it sound like divine intervention but it could have been the coffee and how much my daughter like the pretty banners!”

Tracy said it was because of the “FREE COFFEE” sign and how much her daughter liked the “pretty banners.”

But it was so much more–she went in an atheist Wiccan and came out telling the pastor, “If this is what God is all about you can count me in.”  When Tracy moved back to Boston last year, her pastor told her to check the ARC site for a church in the Boston area.  At the time there wasn’t one.  But one morning just a few weeks ago she was up before her daughter and her husband Scott and  checked ARC’s site again. Minutes later she woke everyone up yelling “They’re here, they’re here!  They’re finally here!”

Today Tracy and Scott are on our launch team and Tracy is excited about StoryHeights Church because it can impact other families’ lives the way Southpoint impacted hers.

Tracy’s story is a reminder to me and Crystal that not only is God in control of this new church, but there are even more stories yet to come. He’s got others waiting on our continued obedience to plant a life-giving church (with “free coffee” and “pretty banners”) in Boston.

God is writing an amazing story about StoryHeights Church!

Tyler and Crystal Tullos, the planters of this new church “officially” launching in Boston in September, recently shared the latest news with us:

A key couple from Baton Rouge has recently made the move to join our team here!  Matt and Fabi Evans are the biggest encouragement and boost to our team you could ask for! God has provided them with jobs and an affordable place to live. Not only that, He’s given them a great neighbor!

A few weeks ago I received an email from a guy in New York named Ian who said he found our church on the ARC site.  He mentioned he was contemplating moving to Boston for work and would be in the area and asked if I had time to meet him for coffee.  I said he’d have to forgive my “southernness” and offered to not only have coffee but to pick him up at the train station and show him around Boston.

We met and had a wonderful day.  Ian is originally from England and ended up in New York via Sydney, Australia where he says he became a “full-time follower of Jesus” and served at Hillsong Church.  He moved to New York to be part of Liberty Church, another ARC church plant there, but had been feeling God leading him to Boston “for some strange reason.”  He said his top priority in his decision to move was not finding a job, but finding a local church.

Long story short, Ian stepped out in faith and found what he was looking for!  He’s moved to Boston and is closing in on the job he wants.  And he is “full on” with StoryHeights Church and is playing a critical role in how God is using us in this city!

I couldn’t have dreamed up this story on my own.  I couldn’t have imagined an Englishman from Sydney and NYC moving to Boston and serving in God’s church here and finding a place to live NEXT DOOR to Matt and Fabi!

Ian’s story is just the beginning. We’ll post another story from StoryHeights soon!

For more information visit our relief page.

I was recently reminded of the power of saying “NO” in a book I’m reading called, Rework. In it, the authors, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson make the statement:

“It’s easy to say yes. Yes to another feature, yes to an overly optimistic deadline, yes to a mediocre design. Soon the stack of things you’ve said yes to grows so tall you can’t even see the things you should really be doing.”

When I read this, I can’t help but think of so many leaders of church plants and churches who, in their quest to build a great church and win people to their cause, too often find themselves saying “YES” to things they really should be saying “NO” too.

Over the past 9 years of leading and growing Next Level Church from 4 people in a coffee shop to over 1,500 people each weekend, I’ve learned a few things about The Power of Saying NO:

1.  Saying NO is never easy.

I’m not going to deceive you into thinking that telling people no is fun or easy or a flippant thing in any way. Just the opposite, it’s actually really hard! Especially when your church or organization is small! The last thing in the world you want is for someone to leave because you wouldn’t care for their legitimately “good” idea.

However, if we don’t protect and fight for the purity of the culture we’re trying to create in our churches, we’ll end up watering down who we are to such a degree that in the end it does more harm than good.

2.  Saying NO won’t make people happy.

Inevitably, when we say no to someone’s “good” idea, someone’s feelings will get hurt. People won’t always understand why we’re making the decision we’re making and some will leave mad. This is just a function of the leadership journey. As a leader, making the right decision for your organization is what you get paid to do, and at times it will come with a price.

However, I have found that a silver lining does exist at times. Most people end up being pretty understanding when they know the why behind our decision. Not always, but sometimes when we share our logic and heart, people can accept that and move on. It has been my experience that people don’t want to be right as much as they simply want to be heard. As leaders, it’s our job to listen sincerely, explain our perspective and then make the wise decision for the organization that we ultimately lead.

3.  Saying NO protects you, your family and your organization.

As our organization has grown, my responsibility to say NO has increased significantly. Because let’s face it, in a bigger organization, there’s money, facilities and the perception that we could accommodate more “good” things.

But I have had to learn the art of saying NO in order to protect my family, my schedule, my time, and my energy. Yes I’m a leader, but I’m also still a human being. And I must be wise enough to understand that I’m the only guy who can care for my wife (well, there are others, but we’d all agree, we don’t want that!!!) I’m the only guy who can be dad to my 2 boys, and I’m the only guy who can show up every weekend and share life-giving, vision oriented, engaging messages that allow the Holy Spirit to change lives.

If I’m not prioritizing those things, then I’m not doing my job. That IS my #1 Priority.

4.  Saying NO allows you to stay focused on what you do best.

At the end of the day, when you say NO to something “good” you position your organization, your staff and your teams to focus on the best. There’s something freeing about the word NO. Unfortunately, far too many leaders use it far too infrequently.

So the question to consider is this: If you HAD to identify 3 things that you MUST say no to right now, what would they be? No excuses, no buts… just do it. In the next 24 hours, do the hard but right thing and say NO to them. In the end, you know you’ll feel better about it!

Matt Keller pastors the church he planted in 2002, Next Level Church in Ft. Myers, FL. (www.NextLevelChurch.com) He is also the author of the book, The Up the Middle Church. Matt travels and speaks often and enjoys his passion: coaching pastors nationwide through online video coaching networks. (www.MyNextLevel.me) Matt blogs frequently at www.MattKellerOnline.com and can be followed on Twitter @matthewkeller. Matt’s favorite candy is Skittles.

Many of you have requested a photo or video of Billy. Here are some resources for you… Click any hyperlink to download.

Billy Photo jpg Large or Small

Billy Banner

Billy Banner 2

Billy Tribute Video

ARC Promo Video HD or SD

ARC History HD

Books:
101 Rules for Relationships

Success for the Second in Command

The Cell Driven Church

The Attractional Church

Other Resources:

His message at Church of the Highlands called Struggle Well Dec 26th

Greg Surratt and Billy “Tribute”

Dear Friends,

On March 23, 2011 at 9:44pm, our father and friend, Billy Hornsby went to be with the Lord. Billy’s passion for God, family, life, and leaders around the world will be long remembered.

A memorial service to celebrate Billy’s life will be held at Church of the Highlands. Please check the church’s website or the ARC website for service information. In lieu of flowers we are asking that donations in Billy Hornsby’s name be made to the Association of Related Churches (ARC).

This verse from God’s Word says it all:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT)

Words cannot express how much you mean to us. We are grieving, but not like the rest of men who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). On behalf of my family, thank you for your love and support.

Read more…

Chris Hodges

Aaron & Megan Loy – Lincoln, Nebraska – http://www.mosaiclincoln.org

It’s here!  The Attractional Church by Billy Hornsby. Get your copy today!

Buy on Amazon.

Q&A with Justin Grace
Lead planter and pastor, Connecting Point Church, College Station, TX

Justin Grace attended the Grow Conference online last year. During the first session Billy Hornsby remarked , “Pastors come to us and say ‘My city is a graveyard for pastors….It is hard to start a church here.’ They are just digging their own grave… ARC is here to take the shovel away…”

Q: How did you find out about the ARC?

A. At a high school football game. I believe it was a divine appointment. I met a pastor named Joel Dyke. He and his wife Angel have become dear friends of ours and are now serving as overseers of our church. Joel invited us to attend the All Access Conference at Church of the Highlands. We were blown away and inspired to chase our dream of planting a church. A short time after that conference, I had the honor of having dinner in Baton Rouge with Bro. Billy and Charlene. I’ll never forget how special that night was to me. Bro. Billy and I talked about hunting, football, family, and church planting. I remember walking away challenged to grow and inspired to chase the dream God put in my heart. I was also shocked that Bro. Billy, the President of the Association of Related Churches, close friends to men like John Maxwell, would actually take time to have dinner with a young man with a big dream. All I needed was someone to believe in me, and that someone was Billy Hornsby!

Billy Hornsby & Sean Clarke w/ Shovel

Q. Why did you give Billy the shovel?

A. A pastor in my community was very quick to inform me that our city (College Station) was a church planter’s graveyard. At that very moment, I remembered what Bro. Billy had said. I drove home feeling confident that I wasn’t just planting another church, but that I was planting a “life giving” church. Later that week, as I was sorting through boxes and reorganizing my garage, I came across an old rusty shovel. I immediately thought, “That shovel doesn’t belong to me!” My wife Hayley and I attended the ARC Assessment at Church of the Highlands and I gave Bro. Billy the shovel, committing myself to planting an ARC church. Giving that shovel away was a catalyst for my family. We really believed we were ready to plant Connecting Point Church the right way!

Q. What is unique about your city?

A. College Station, TX is a small city (200,000 residents and students in Bryan-College Station) with huge national impact. We’re located an hour and a half from Austin, Houston, and Waco. Texas A&M (the 5th largest university in the country with 50,000 students) is the heart beat of the city. We quickly realized this was a great community with new schools, hospitals, and businesses being built. Less than 20% of our population has a church home. The biggest struggle was sports–the Cotton Bowl was tough for us since we’ve always been LSU fans!

Q. Tell us about the church you are planting.

A. Our family moved to College Station in August 2010 and didn’t know a single person. Within the next five months, we had the honor of developing the launch team of Connecting Point Church. We currently have around 50 adults and children, we’ve raised over $30,000, and we will be the first church in the history of our city to have church in a movie theater. We’ve spent countless hours with the unchurched and de-churched, seeing people surrender their lives to Jesus, be set free from cutting and suicide, and become willing to give the local church another chance. We believe that church should be fun, authentic, and relational. We launch on Sunday, February 27th and are thoroughly excited about the plans God has in store and the strategies we have for reaching as many people for Christ as possible. Our vision is pretty simple. We exist to help people connect with Jesus! We are using the Growth Track modeled by Church of the Highlands and Point Groups.

Q. Why are you planting with ARC?

A. The relationships with other ARC pastors and ARC staff. Their encouragement and wisdom have been one of the greatest resources. There’s something about the ARC that’s different than any other experience I’ve had. With the ARC, you’re celebrated not tolerated! It’s great to learn from the successes and failures of those who’ve gone before, giving us the best possible chance to succeed. My closest friends in ministry have come from ARC. The financial support has also been a huge blessing–there’s no way we could have the launch we will without that help. I love the heart of the ARC lead teams and their churches. The ARC really prepared us well for the different phases of church planting and have continued with us through out the process, from roundtables, assessment and Basic Training to the All Access Conference, Grow Conference, and conference calls with pastors all across the country. I’m honored to be a part of the ARC! We will be successful because we’re not holding shovel handles, but the hands of people!